You have to face many uncomfortable situations while wearing braces like braces wires getting bent. You may ask, why braces wire gets bent and how to fix it.
Orthodontists usually bents the archwire to put pressure on your teeth. Sometimes, it gets bent due to its property, an accident, or unexpected activities of the wearer. It can be fixed by using simple home equipment.
But, in an emergency, someone needs to seek orthodontists to repair.
This is also important to prevent any delay in treatment.
Here, we have discussed how you can fix bent braces wire at home, when it’s an emergency and why this occurs.
What Happens When Braces Wire Gets Bent?
Here are some effects of having bent braces wire:
1. Loosening of wires
Bent wire becomes loose easily. This may lead to the wire to cut off and other problems.
2. Poking wire
After bending, the wire may start to poke the inner surface of the cheek.
Learn more about a poking wire.
3. Trauma
When the wire hurts the inner skin, you may end up with ulceration.
4. Broken braces wire
In the worst-case scenario, you may have a broken wire, as the bent wire is so weak.
5. Loss of function
This condition doesn’t let the wires work properly. As a result, the tooth may stop moving.
6. Abnormal tooth movement
In some cases, you may have unplanned or abnormal tooth movement that makes the situation worse.
7. Lengthening the duration of treatment
Any interruption to orthodontic treatment delays the overall treatment time. We know that you want to remove those braces as early as possible and get a beautiful smile.
But, a situation like bent wire prolongs the time.
Why Do You Get Bent Braces Wire?
You may have the bent braces wire due to the following reasons:
1. Thin flexible archwires
If the archwire is thin and flexible, it can be bent easily. You get this type of archwire during the early stage of treatment.
At that time, they have more tendency to get bent if you are careless or do anything wrong. During a later stage, you will get stronger and thicker wires.
But, orthodontists don’t use that in an early stage so that teeth may get adopted to the force and pressure.
2. Movement of the tooth and releasing the pressure
When the orthodontist attaches the wires and bends them to produce a force. These wires have the property of getting back to their original state.
So, when a tooth moves from its place, wires become loose over time. As a result, you may have a bend braces wire. This is a normal situation and you don’t have to worry.
3. Eating hard, crunchy and sticky foods
Biting on hard and crunchy foods with braces on teeth can bend the wire. These foods put pressure on your teeth as well as braces.
As the wire run gets attached to the braces, it may change shape and get loose.
Get the list of foods that you should avoid with braces from here.
4. Careless tooth brushing
A wrong tooth brushing method can make the wire bend. Keep in mind that brushing teeth with and without braces aren’t the same.
Putting more pressure on those wires with a toothbrush may cause them to get bent.
5. Hard bristle toothbrush
Hard brittle braces may damage the wire. If you don’t take a soft bristle toothbrush after getting braces, you may end up with bent wire.
6. Not knowing the proper flossing method
One of the easiest ways to have a bent wire is flossing inappropriately. With braces teeth, you shouldn’t be careless while flossing.
7. Playing with the wires
Sometimes, kids like to play with wires and braces. Some may poke wire with other materials like a pen or pencil. This is very harmful to wires.
8. Trying to copy orthodontist
Sometimes kids like to copy what orthodontists did while attaching the braces and wires.
Even adults may sometimes experiment with braces or try to copy the procedure so that they can accelerate tooth movement.
This causes the wire to bend or other serious problems.
9. Unusual habits
Many have bad habits such as biting on a pen or nail or pressing the wire with the tongue tip. This can cause a bent or loosened wire.
10. An accident
Though it’s unfortunate and rare, sometimes because of an injury like a sports injury or falls, you may have a bent wire.
Sometimes, even though we are aware of the situation, we may hurt the wires during eating or cleaning our teeth.
However, don’t hesitate to share the actual reason for bent braces wire with your orthodontist.
How To Prevent Braces Wire To Get Bent?
Take a look at the ways to prevent the bent braces wire:
1. Don’t bend wire intentionally.
Braces wearers always try to find a way to complete the treatment fast. So, some of them think of doing something on their own.
One of those activities is bending wires intentionally to put more pressure. They think that it will move the tooth faster.
But, you should know that we can only move tooth fast if we put an ideal force to it. The orthodontist knows what’s the actual force required for certain teeth to move in the desired detection.
But, what are the problems of putting more pressure on teeth?
An excess pressure damage tooth and bones that support the tooth permanently. This leads to falling out of the tooth. So, you should never do that.
However, if you want to know how to get Braces off faster, check this article.
2. Avoid playing with the wires.
If your kid is wearing braces, you need to be careful so that they don’t play with the wires. Teach them to protect the brackets and wires.
3. Prevent bad oral habits.
You have to prevent your child from biting on a pen, pencil, or nails. Even adults should break any bad oral habits. You should consult your orthodontist if you can’t break the habits like tongue thrusting.
4. Eating soft and braces-friendly foods.
You have to be cautious about choosing foods right foods for braces to prevent accidental bending of wires.
Stay away from hard and crunchy foods and eat soft and nonsticky foods. Don’t bit on big-sized or hard foods.
Rather, cut the bigger foods into smaller slices before eating.
Know what and how to eat with braces.
5. Follow the toothbrushing technique for braces.
Brush your teeth gently to prevent the wire from bending. Know the appropriate technique of toothbrushing with braces and archwire.
However, don’t be so afraid that you stop cleaning the tooth thoroughly. This will lead to tooth staining and cavity.
6. Buy a proper toothbrush for braces.
You must buy soft bristle toothbrushes so that braces wires remain safe when you brush your teeth.
7. Floss teeth with caution.
Be careful while flossing your tooth. Learn the perfect flossing technique that should be used for braces to prevent bending.
8. Protect braces and wires with a mouthguard.
Even if you are careful, an accident is very harmful to braces and it stops all progress of treatment. So, wear a mouthguard during sports and other activities that have a risk of falling down, especially for kids.
9. Follow all instructions of the orthodontist.
If you follow all advice given by your orthodontist, there is less chance of facing any problem like bent wire.
Why Don’t Orthodontists Use Braces Wire That Doesn’t Get Bent?
You may wonder if there is a chance of bending the braces wire, why does an orthodontist use flexible and thin wire? Why can’t they use other materials?
Orthodontists put brackets on teeth and then attach wires. They bend the wire and tighten it to provide pressure for them. This helps to move the tooth.
Braces wires should be thin and flexible so that an orthodontist can bend them according to the need like putting pressure to move the teeth in a certain detection.
If it’s tough, he or she can’t use it to correct your bite. Because of the nature of the braces wire, it gets a bit loose and sometimes bent when the tooth moves.
You may get thicket and strong wire later stage of treatment, but occasionally it may get bent due to a certain cause.
What about other alternatives?
Elastic can move a tooth which is also used to move the tooth. But, wires work the best to do the work.
So, we give the main priority to the braces wire. We use elastic to put extra force on the tooth along with wires.
How to Fix Bent Braces Wire?
First of all, don’t try to fix the wire on your own. It’ll make the situation worse. You have to bend it again to fix it.
But, it’s not so easy. An orthodontist uses special instruments for that. What’s more important is he or she knows what’s the right way of bending to put a certain amount of force on a tooth.
So, you shouldn’t fix it. Talk to your orthodontist and make an appointment to repair it. However, when there are other problems, you can try to make the situation favorable.
Let’s know how to fix bent braces wire at home without harming the braces to prevent other side effects such as pain or cut in the mouth.
1. Applying orthodontic wax.
Put some dental wax on the bent wire to prevent the wire from hurting your inner mouth. This will help get rid of pain and you can eat foods without any discomfort. But, you should buy the appropriate dental wax for braces.
Also, Get step by step guide to applying dental wax.
2. Pushing it with a pencil eraser.
Take a pencil with an eraser on the back and gently push and bend the wire away from the cheek so that it can’t poke your skin.
3. Bending it with a tweezer.
If the bent wire hurts your cheek or lips, you can use a tweezer to bend it away from the skin and keep it near the wire.
4. Cutting it with a fingernail clipper.
If it’s bent in such a way that, it has extra wire, you can cut it off with a fingernail clipper. But make sure it’s clean before you insert it in your mouth.
5. Rinse with lukewarm and saltwater.
If you already have a cut inside your mouth, rinse the mouth with lukewarm and salt water 4-5 times a day for 60 seconds.
Before performing any of these techniques, we recommend you consult with your orthodontist.
When shouldn’t you try to fix the bent braces wire yourself?
You shouldn’t try to fix the bent wire until it hurts your cheek or causes pain. Even if you perform any repair process, you can only do it to prevent the wire from hurting you.
But, some people may say, they have learned how an orthodontist fixes the bent wire, so why can’t they do it themselves?
The reason is it not only affects your treatment but may also cause serious damage.
We, orthodontists, measure many things and then make a plan for treatment. We put an ideal force on the teeth to move and their proper alignment.
To do it, we bend and tighten the wire. All bending techniques aren’t the same. We have to calculate many things before making the bend.
So, when you have a bent wire and try to fix it, you can’t do it properly. As a result, the tooth may absorb an abnormal force and direction of which may be correct.
This will lead to the movement of the tooth to unplanned detection. Moreover, excessive force will damage the tooth permanently.
In addition, your one or more brackets may get loose or break, when you try to fix that.
Therefore, avoid fixing it, rather do something that can protect your teeth, gums, and cheek, as we discussed here already.
When is a bent braces wire an emergency?
People may not realize whether a bent braces wire is an emergency or not. If you are confused, you must call your orthodontist first.
But, when it happens because of your fault, you may hesitate to talk to him or her. Never do that, because he or she knows what’s best for you and delaying makes the condition complicated.
You should know that a bent wire may not be an emergency all time, but you should visit your orthodontist as soon as possible so that it can’t cause any side effects.
Some people may ignore this situation. But, by doing this, it’s going to move your teeth in the wrong direction as well as destroy the teeth. So, try to fix the problem fast.
However, the situation may become an emergency when you feel more pain than usual after the braces wire gets bent or the wire cuts your check or gums badly.
Takeaways
Orthodontists bend the wire normally to produce an orthodontic tooth movement for correcting the misalignment of teeth.
But, you may have a bent braces wire in some cases while you are wearing it because of an accident or trying to adjust the braces at home.
Sometimes, it may occur due to eating hard and crunchy foods or wrong toot cleaning techniques.
You can fix the bent braces wire at home with the help of a tweezer or nail clipper at home.
You may also put some dental wax to prevent the bent wire from poking your mouth.
However, you must seek your orthodontist to help for repairing the bent wire permanently.
